Government fails to collect £222million in fines from rogue firms hiring illegal immigrant workers - as Home Office accused of 'failed clampdown'

More than three-quarters of fines issued to companies for hiring illegal workers are going unpaid, the Daily Mail can reveal. 

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has boasted of increasing enforcement activity 'to its highest level in British history' in a bid to deter rogue employers. 

Employers can face fines of up to £60,000 per individual if it is found they hired illegal workers and failed to conduct the relevant pre-employment checks. 

While a large volume of fines are being handed out, less than a quarter are ever collected. 

Immigration Enforcement issued £288.6million worth of civil penalties from 2021/22 to 2025/26. But just £66.4million was ever paid, according to a Freedom of Information request by the Mail. 

This means 77 per cent of fines are going unpaid, equivalent to £222.2million. 

While some of this shortfall will be due to 30 per cent discounts for early payment of fines or others being reduced or axed on appeal, that is still not enough to explain the difference. 

Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control, said the statistics revealed a flaw in the Home Office's much-trumpeted illegal working crackdown. 

The second highest fine of £180,000 was given to Cinnamon Indian in Keynsham, Bristol, which closed over the summer.

'These figures reveal a fundamental weakness at the heart of Immigration Enforcement, and how Home Office incompetence has meant there is little actual deterrent in place for hiring illegal workers. 

'Even if they are fined, there is little chance of dodgy businesses being required to stump up the full amount. 

'We will not see a meaningful clampdown on Britain's surging illegal migrant population unless the Home Office massively increases the sanctions that it issues to those caught breaking immigration law.'

Employers, including high street businesses such as barbers, nail salons and massage parlours, were hit with £121.7m worth of fines in 2025/26, compared with just £6.1m in 2021/22 - a rise of 1,895 per cent. 

The value of fines paid was £27.5m in 2025/26 and £4m in 2021/22, although it is not possible to directly compare collection rates year by year because not all fines are paid in the same year they are issued.

The ability to work without papers is considered a major pull factor for migrants overstaying visas or arriving illegally on small boats and lorries.

Businesses that are commonly caught employing illegal workers include car washes, barbers, salons, hotels and takeaways, as well as haulage firms, care providers and home renovation services.

The latest figures, for the year to March 31, show the largest fine was £360,000, issued to Dekorprint, a packaging firm in the West Midlands town of Smethwick.

The second highest fine of £180,000 was given to Cinnamon Indian in Keynsham, Bristol, which closed over the summer.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has boasted of increasing enforcement activity 'to the highest level in British history' in a bid to deter rogue employers

Its owner - Ami Rahman - announced in July that he had been forced to close the restaurant and claimed to be a victim of rising bills. 

He said: 'Spiralling food prices, soaring energy bills, rising wages, increasing overheads, the burden of VAT and the ongoing cost of living crisis have made life incredibly difficult for independent restaurants across the country.

'Hospitality is built on passion, but passion alone cannot overcome every obstacle.'

Businesses found to be employing people illegally face fines of up to £45,000 per worker for the first offence and up to £60,000 per worker for repeat offenders.

While many are small firms, inspectors have netted some major names, including the famous Royal China restaurant on London's Baker Street.

The well-known eatery has paid fines totalling £470,000 after three visits by immigration officers between 2018 and 2024.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'We will always pursue full debt recovery in every case.

'Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages, and fuels organised immigration crime. This government will not stand for it.

'Since coming into power, we have increased immigration enforcement action to the highest level in British history. This has delivered a 122% rise in illegal working arrests, and a 111% rise in raids.'